


Sea and Wind

by AliceYui



Category: Berserk
Genre: Gen, Other, Snark, Talking shit about Farnese behind her back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 20:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7655971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceYui/pseuds/AliceYui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A small chat in the crow's nest of the Seahorse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sea and Wind

“Well, good morning. I see you’re up early.” Roderick greeted as he climbed the crow’s nest. Serpico turned around slowly and offered a small smile along with a nod.

“Good morning to you as well, Captain.”

The morning sea wind felt fresh and strong, driving away any sleep or tiredness on Roderick’s body as he stretched out his arms, greeting the sun. Serpico’s cloak billowed gently with the air, it almost looked as if he would float away any second now, making Roderick remember the battle in Vritannis, Boss Guts had certainly taken center stage but the page’s abilities were also unforgettable.

“I see you’re quite the mage as well, the men say the wind is best whenever you come up here but now that I feel it myself I can ascertain it’s true.”

A little awkward start but nonetheless it made the blonde chuckle to himself.

“I’m no such thing, not like Miss Schierke or Lady Farnese. The power is in the cloak itself, I can control it to some degree but it’s not my own.”

Roderick hummed and set his eyes on the blue cloak, observing its movement as it rolled and rose with the air, for a few seconds he felt like he could see some sort of small transparent-ish insects surrounding and going in and out of the fabric. He decided not to comment on it lest he offend Serpico by mentioning bugs in his clothes.

Magnifico had offered very sparce words to describe Serpico: “Farnese’s servant” and that was that. He also thought it would be prudent not to demand explanations from any in their party; as far as he could see, the kids, the boss and especially Farnese trusted Serpico and after seeing their interactions he had no reason to doubt that the young man could have any sort of ill intentions towards anyone. Unless it was an enemy.

“Whatever the method, you’re a big help, the men are very thankful to you for taking the time to be here even for a little while. I know the crow’s nest is a hard spot to be in.”

He’d seen tough and hardened men become sick just thinking about doing duty at the lookout, any small movement was amplified and even the most experienced sailor could become seasick, no wonder it was used as punishment from time to time.

Serpico only smiled again, raising a hand to tame his hair a bit from the wind. “It’s the best I can do to help after getting a free trip. Besides, it’s a nice view.”

Roderick smiled back and turned to look at the horizon in front of them, he could hear the Mustachioed Knight on the deck already yelling at Isidro for some antic and Isidro yelling back some kind of provocation, soon it would end up up in another comical duel with bets going around in favor or against Isidro finally delivering the finishing blow or not. 

Serpico however was not interested in the goings-on of the deck and instead directed his eyes to the sky. Roderick tried to follow his line of sight but didn’t see anything particularly interesting other than the usual blue sky and cloud formations.

“…Magnifico told me that you are Miss Farnese’s valet,” the prince began, hoping to establish a friendly conversation, and maybe get some interesting tidbits about his fiancee.

“Hmmm….that’s one way to say it I guess. After thirteen years I wonder if I should still call myself that…”

“You’ve been her servant for thirteen years straight?”

“Well, give or take a few, but it certainly has been more than ten years.” Serpico shrugged but Roderick was amazed, he could see it now though, he’d thought it was unusual that Farnese placed so much trust in him for a male servant and more than once he’d caught her looking at the blond for some sort of confirmation or affirmation but Serpico never offered any encouraging words or gestures other than a kind smile and maybe a nod. 

He felt slightly relieved, Roderick knew he was a good looking man, with good features and a strong body, but Serpico himself was not bad to look at, he had a youthful face and golden hair, he’d yet to see his body directly but if his ability with the sword was anything to go by then he was at the very least appropriately athletic to handle it, he wouldn’t be surprised if more than one lady had desired him despite his servant status. 

A ten-year bond was nothing to make light of, but had there been any romantic inclinations then that would’ve been obvious by now and Farnese would probably not accepted his proposal. She didn’t seem the kind of woman that would easily trade away her love. At most, he could imagine them having a sibling-like bond.

“Ten years….amazing…..I imagine you must know a lot about her then.”

Serpico opened his mouth then immediately closed it, as if looking for the proper words to describe what he and Farnese had gone through together. “You could say…” he hesitated “….you could say I’m the person closest to her.”

Was that a tease or a provocation? This guy was actually hard to read, despite his seemingly easy-going disposition. Roderick decided not to take offense. “Was she really a devil child like the rumors describe?”

Serpico laughed and the wind seemed to pick up a bit, raising the sails further. 

“Devil child. She certainly did a lot of mean, scary…….incomprehensible things as a kid, but a lot was exaggerated too.”

“I figured as much,” Roderick leaned slightly over the edge of the crow’s nest. Things had calmed down on deck, another victory for the Mustachioed Knight seemingly. “Were you ever on the wrong side of one of her moods?”

“I was on the wrong side of all of her moods! One time she sicced the hounds on me to see if they had been trained properly, at another time she had me ride a horse and whipped it until it threw me off, and one other time she kicked me off the ledge of a window.” As he described those punishments Serpico smiled, as if recounting fond memories despite the obvious danger he had been in. Roderick couldn’t help but grin back.

“Sounds like you put up with a lot.”

“I guess. I never saw it like that. She did behave normally occasionally.”

“Oh really?” Roderick leaned a little closer, interested in hearing whatever Serpico had to say about his mistress.

“For a while she became very fond of dolls. The master and the mistress gifted her many over the years and Lady Farnese enjoyed them as any little girl would, she’d set them out for tea parties and had me serve them as I would serve another person. Soon she had me pantomime along and move them while pretending to speak in a girl’s voice. And when she got tired of that she made me into one of her own dolls too. She had me dressed in her own gowns and even fashioned a wig with curls. Don’t laugh! It was terrible! I had to pretend to be a doll, so often I had to remain still in whatever position she decided until one day she ‘forgot’ me in the garden. I thought she’d get mad if I broke character but she got mad anyway for being dumb enough to stay in the garden all day and night.”

Roderick couldn’t help but roar in laughter as he imagined Serpico in a fancy dress and fake curls atop his head. It certainly sounded like the kind of prank a kid would order on her servants and the way Serpico described Farnese’s endeavors as something adorable rather than scary only helped endear him more to his fiancee.

“The way you describe it doesn’t seem like she was all that bad.”

“Well she was still a child then, she got worse as she grew up, but I’m also trying to make her good look for you.”

Roderick couldn’t help the incredulous look that crossed his face as Serpico said this without a change in his expression. The prince observed the servant’s face steadily as the blond looked calmly towards the horizon. Unbeknownst to Roderick, he’d left out the part were she’d burned all her dolls afterwards and all the dresses she’d made him wear, and the fact that the day she’d forgotten him outside was during winter and with a light dress on he’d caught the worst fever of his life that had him laying in bed for a week on the brink of delirium.

After a few seconds Roderick laughed to himself, lightly knocking on the wood of the crow’s nest ledge. “You are indeed like the wind.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, no offense intended, truly. You’re like the wind, present but ungraspable. One moment you’re a summer breeze but the next you might be a typhoon.”

Serpico cocked his head to the side, a bit confused over that explanation. “Thank you, I guess?”

“What I mean to say is…. your thoughts are what’s ungraspable. It’s hard to tell what you’re thinking or feeling, but nonetheless you support her, and your group too. You’ll take whatever form they need of you, a fierce soldier or a kind friend.”

Serpico smiled, pushing his hair back to keep it from being tousled anymore by the wind. “I suppose that’s one way to see it.”

Roderick didn’t feel like he’d made much progress gathering information on Farnese, but he did feel like he’d gotten slightly on Serpico’s good side and that was a satisfying victory, as small as it was.

“Well then, although I enjoyed our little talk I should be getting back to the crew and check on our progress. Please don’t feel obligated to stay here all day.” The prince spoke as he turned around to the exit of the crow’s nest.

“Thank you, Captain. I’ll be down in a few moments.”

“Much obliged, Sir Serpico. And feel free to call me just Roderick.”

“Mmhm. Feel free to call me just Serpico as well.” The wind blew softly between them as Serpico offered an honest, gentle smile towards Roderick. Roderick returned the gesture before beginning his descent from the mast. Serpico was certainly an enigmatic young man, his quiet nature hid a strong will although that will was used in favor of others and not himself, and that ‘others’ was Farnese more than anyone else. Magnifico hadn’t warned him that courting Farnese came with a package deal of Serpico along but he didn’t mind now, having seen that he was just as interesting as his mistress.


End file.
